Position indicator for valves

ABSTRACT

A device for indicating the status of a valve includes a position indicator, wherein the position indicator includes a monitoring element, and a communication element. A method for indicating the status of at least one valve includes monitoring positions of a device enclosed by a first valve with a position indicator and communicating the positions of the device enclosed by the first valve with a communications element.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/902,092, filed May 24, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/651,962, filed May 25, 2012, both ofwhich are hereby specifically incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to valves. More specifically, this disclosurerelates to position indicators for valves.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a device for indicating the status of a valve including aposition indicator, wherein the position indicator includes a monitoringelement, and a communication element.

Also disclosed is a method for indicating the status of at least onevalve including monitoring positions of a device enclosed by a firstvalve with a position indicator and communicating the positions of thedevice enclosed by the first valve with a communications element.

Various implementations described in the present disclosure may includeadditional systems, methods, features, and advantages, which may notnecessarily be expressly disclosed herein but will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings. It is intended that all suchsystems, methods, features, and advantages be included within thepresent disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.

BACKGROUND

Non-rising stem gate valves, butterfly valves, ball valves and similartypes of valves may be operated by a number of different processes,including manual and electronic actuation. For example, non-rising stemgate valves provide a means to isolate and to stop flow in a pipingsystem by rotating an internal threaded stem that moves the gate intoproper alignment, i.e. to an open or closed position. Likewise, abutterfly valve rotates an internal disk that allows or prevents theflow of water through the valve. However, it can be difficult todetermine whether a non-rising stem gate valve, a butterfly valve orsimilarly constructed valves are open or closed simply by viewing itfrom the outside.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The features and components of the following figures are illustrated toemphasize the general principles of the present disclosure and are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Corresponding features and componentsthroughout the figures may be designated by matching referencecharacters for the sake of consistency and clarity.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a non-rising stem gate valve.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the non-rising stem gate valve ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a position indicator in accordwith one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a non-rising stem gate valveincorporating the position indicator of FIG. 3 in accord with oneembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the position indicator of FIG. 3incorporated into the non-rising stem gate valve of FIG. 4 in an openstate in accord with one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the position indicator of FIG. 3incorporated into the non-rising stem gate valve of FIG. 4 in a closedstate in accord with one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a position indicator in accordwith one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a non-rising stem gate valveincorporating the position indicator of FIG. 6 in accord with oneembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic of a position indicator circuitry inaccord with one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a non-rising stem gate valveincorporating a position indicator in accord with one embodiment of thecurrent disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a close-up of the exploded perspective view of FIG. 9 inaccord with one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 11A is an exploded perspective view of the position indicator ofFIG. 9 in accord with one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 11B is a top view of the position indicator of FIG. 9 in accordwith one embodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 11C is a cross-sectional view of the position indicator of FIG. 9taken in the plane indicated by line A-A in FIG. 11B in accord with oneembodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 11D is a cross-sectional view of the position indicator of FIG. 9taken in the plane indicated by line B-B in FIG. 11C in accord with oneembodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a view of a communication device in accord with oneembodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a view of a communication device in accord with oneembodiment of the current disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a system in accord with one embodiment ofthe current disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a system in accord with one embodiment ofthe current disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing various system components in accordwith multiple embodiments of the current disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed are methods, systems, devices, and various apparatus relatedto position indicators for various valves. Although this disclosure ispresented mainly in the context of a non-rising stem gate valveinteracting with water, the methods, systems, devices, and variousapparatus disclosed herein may be used with any type of valve and anytype of material where determining the status of the valve is difficult.The position indicator includes at least one monitoring element and atleast one communication element. The position indicator is adapted tomonitor, detect and communicate (locally or remotely) the status of thevalve. It would be understood by one of skill in the art that thedisclosed position indicator is described in but a few exemplaryembodiments among many. No particular terminology or description shouldbe considered limiting on the disclosure or the scope of any claimsissuing therefrom.

In municipal piping systems, non-rising stem gate valves selectivelyprevent or allow flow of fluid through particular portions of thesystems. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a typical non-rising stem gate valve10 includes a housing 15, a bonnet 20, and an op nut 25. The op nut 25is coupled to a stem 30. A stuffing box 35 is connected to the top ofthe bonnet 20. Bolts 37 a,b,c and nuts 38 a,b,c fasten the bonnet 20onto the housing 15. Bolts 37 d,e and nuts 38 d,e connect the stuffingbox 35 to the bonnet 20.

As illustrated in cross-sectional view in FIG. 2, the stem 30 includesthreading 39 to engage a gate 40 and to cause the gate 40 to rise out ofor to descend into the path of the fluid flowing in the housing 15. Thestem 30 is a non-rising stem, meaning it is not coupled to the housing15 or the bonnet 20 in a way that would cause it to rise or fall withthe motion of the gate 40. Although motion of the stem 30 may berestricted by the housing 15 or the bonnet 20, the threading 39 of thestem 30 is not mechanically connected to the housing 15 or the bonnet20, so the stem 30 does not move upward or downward with the gate 40.Instead, the threads 39 of the stem 30 interact with threads (not shown)in the gate 40 to cause translational motion of the gate 40 from an openstate (not shown)—in which fluid is allowed to flow through the gatevalve 10—to a closed state (shown in FIG. 2)—in which fluid is blockedfrom flowing through the gate valve 10—and vice versa.

From the outside, however, it is difficult to determine whether thevalve 10 is in the open state or the closed state or somewhere between.This can also cause problems from a systems perspective if the valve isconnected to an electronic nodal network or utility mesh network, andthe network is unable to determine the state of the valve 10.

The current disclosure includes methods, systems, and apparatus capableof determining a state of a non-rising stem gate valve and may includecommunication with a remote communicator. Various embodiments disclosedherein are exemplary embodiments meant to satisfy applicable statutoryrequirements. The embodiments disclosed herein should not be consideredlimiting on the disclosure.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, one embodiment of a position indicator100 and a non-rising stem gate valve 1000 is disclosed herein. Thenon-rising stem gate valve 1000 includes the same op nut 25, bonnet 20,stuffing box 35, housing 15, and gate 40 (not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) asthe non-rising stem gate valve 10 as previously described. However, thenon-rising stem gate valve 1000 includes the position indicator 100 asan additional component. Although some components are coincident betweenthe non-rising stem gate valve 1000 in the current embodiment and thenon-rising stem gate valve 10 as previously described, the use of suchcomponents is for convenience only and is merely exemplary, and one ofskill in the art would understand that no specific configuration orcomponents will limit the scope of the disclosure.

The position indicator 100 is connected to the gate valve 1000 andmonitors the motion of the stem. A magnet 110 (shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B)is connected to a position couple 120 that is coupled to a stem 130. Inthe current embodiment, the position couple 120 is a threaded collar. Inthe current embodiment, the magnet 110 is embedded within the positioncouple 120. In various embodiments, one or more magnets 110 may beplaced within or on the position couple 120 in various arrangements. Inother embodiments the position couple 120 may include magnetic materialin its construction and thereby perform as a magnet, removing the needof a separate magnet 110. In some embodiments, the position couple 120is coupled to the gate 40 or rests on the gate 40 to track the motion ofthe gate 40 directly. In some embodiments, the position indicator 100may include at least one proximity sensor to determine proximity(relative to the proximity sensor) of the position couple 120 and magnet110 and, thereby, the gate 40 that indicates their positions within thegate valve 1000. The magnet 110 follows the travel of the positioncouple 120 and, thereby, the movement of the stem 130 and gate 40.Particularly, in the current embodiment, the position couple 120includes fine threads 135 which interact with fine threads 140 of thestem 130. Rotational movement of the stem 130 causes the translationalmovement of the gate 40 and the position couple 120 and, thereby, themagnet 110. The translational movement of the gate 40 corresponds totranslational motion of the magnet 110, although the correspondence isdependent upon the pitch of the fine threads 140 with respect to thepitch of the magnet threads 39 (not shown in FIG. 3)

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the stem 130 of the current embodimentincludes fine threads 140 that interact with the position couple 120.The position couple 120 of the current embodiment screws onto the stem130 in proximity to a circuit board 150 that includes at least oneproximity sensor which, in the current embodiment is two Hall sensors155 a,b. The circuit board 150 of the current embodiment may be replacedby similar mechanisms or materials for supporting or providing circuitryand other electrical components and connections. The circuit board 150is positioned in an electronic case enclosure 160. The Hall sensors 155a,b can be seen on a side of the circuit board 150 proximate theposition couple 120 and magnet 110 in the current embodiment, althoughvarious configurations may be used in various embodiments. In variousembodiments, various sensor types may be used. One of skill in the artwould understand that the proximity sensing of the currentembodiment—utilizing Hall sensors 155 a,b and the magnet 110—may bereplaced by various proximity sensing techniques, including lightsensing, audible sensing or SONAR, fluid viscosity, pressure devices,springs, rotational motion sensing, linear variable differentialtransformers (“LVDT”), various methods incorporating the above conceptswith software, or various other methods. The electronic case enclosure160 of the current embodiment includes a bottom 162 and a top 164. Thetop 164 is attached to the bottom 162 with mounting bolts 166 a,b,c,d,although various fasteners may be used in various embodiments. Theposition indicator 100 assembly of the current embodiment is shown alongwith the stuffing box 35, which is the standard stuffing box 35 aspreviously shown. As seen in FIG. 4, the electronic case enclosure canbe seen proximate the top end of the non-rising stem gate valve 1000,but the gate valve 1000 otherwise appears visually similar to thetraditional non-rising stem gate valve such as non-rising stem gatevalve 10, as shown above.

Turning to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the magnet 110 of the current embodiment isin proximity to the circuit board 150. The circuit board 150 has atleast one Hall sensor included as part of its circuitry. In the currentembodiment, Hall sensors 155 a,b are shown. The Hall sensors 155 a,bmonitor the position of the magnet 110. In the current embodiment, theposition of the magnet 110 can be determined reliably when the magnet iswithin one inch of each Hall sensors 155 a,b. However, in variousembodiments, the size of the magnet and the sensitivity of thesupporting circuitry may allow a wider distance. Additionally, invarious embodiments, one or multiple Hall sensors like Hall sensors 155a,b may be used to provide redundant or combination sensing. The circuitboard 150 may include more than one Hall sensor 155 or may includevarious types of position sensors, including light sensors (e.g. lightsources and sensors are strategically placed within the valve),mechanical position sensors (illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7), and audiosensors (e.g. audio sources emit an audible or non-audible signal andaudio sensors, such as hydrophones, microphones and the like, listen anddetermine the position of the gate by sound, frequency and/or time),among others. Moreover, the position indicator 100 may communicate theposition to a variety of other devices or to a human. The use of theHall effect and Hall effect sensors are well known in the art for use asproximity detectors. Additionally information may be obtained athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_effectsensor, which is incorporatedherein by reference.

Returning to FIG. 4, the non-rising stem gate valve 1000 may include oneor more communication elements, including visual indicators, audibleindicators, and/or communication devices. Examples of visual indicatorsinclude single or multiple lighted devices, LEDs, LCDs, dot matrixscreens, or possibly cell phones or other similar communication devicesas visual indicators. Audible indicators may include speakers and otheraudio devices. A communication device (further discussed in reference toFIGS. 12 and 13) such as a handheld position display, a cellularcommunication box, or a radio communication module, radio transceiverand transmitter, satellite transceiver and transmitter, cellulartransceiver and transmitter, which may communicate via a wirelessnetwork, Bluetooth protocol, infra-red communication, or direct wiredcommunication may also be incorporated in various embodiments of thegate valve 1000 or the position indicator 100. In various embodiments,the communication device or devices may interface with computers, theinternet, other computer networking devices, or other electronic devicesand software such as PDAs, smartphones, tablet computers, apps andcomputer applications, and networking software, among others.

The communication device may indicate, transmit, and/or interpret theposition of the magnet 110 and, thereby, the state of the gate valve1000. The communication device may be an integral part of the positionindicator 1000 in various embodiments. For other examples, the positionindicator 100 is separate from the communication device and connectedeither wirelessly or by wire. Power to the position indicator 100 andcommunication device may be provided by (to either or both devices) bybattery, wire line, solar, generators, wind energy, hydro-electrical,thermo-electrical or another power source. The non-rising stem gatevalve 1000 may also include a remote actuation device to provide remotecontrol of the non-rising stem gate valve 1000 to remotely change itfrom an open state to a closed state (and vice versa) or some state inbetween. Such remote actuation may include AC motor driven, DC motordriven, or using a compressed air or hydraulic charge system, amongother embodiments.

The position indicator 100 can be incorporated into the non-rising stemgate valve 1000 in various ways. In one embodiment, the positionindicator 100 is an integral part of the non-rising stem gate valve1000; in another embodiment, the position indicator 100 is anattachable/detachable assembly or part.

Optional sensors or other electrical hardware may be interfaced with theposition indicator 100 to function in many capacities. Securityfeatures, pressure sensors and switches, temperature sensors, emergencyshut-offs, flow velocity sensors, and chemical sensors, among otherhardware, may each interface with the position indicator 100, thenon-rising stem gate valve 1000, and/or any communication deviceincluded therewith. Moreover, the position indicator 100 and/or thenon-rising stem gate valve 1000 may act as a repeater for wirelesscommunications if needed in a network.

One of skill in the art would understand that other similar methods oftracking motion of the stem and/or the gate are included within thisdisclosure. For example, among other embodiments, the position indicator100 could track rotational motion of the stem and use the rotationaltravel of the stem to calculate, based on thread size and pitch of thestem, the travel of the gate.

Another embodiment of a position indicator 500 is shown in a non-risingstem gate valve 5000 in FIGS. 6 and 7. The position indicator 500 of thecurrent embodiment does not include magnets or Hall sensors aspreviously described. The position indicator 500 of the currentembodiment utilizes measurement of the mechanical rotation of the stem30 to determine the translational movement of the gate 40.

The position indicator 500, illustrated in FIG. 6, of the currentembodiment includes a gear box to capture rotational movement. The stem30 of the current embodiment is the same stem 30 utilized in thetraditional non-rising stem gate valve 10 and is unmodified for thecurrent embodiment. The position indicator 500 includes a gear enclosure510 that includes a bottom 512 and a top 514. The top 514 of the gearenclosure 510 is connected to the bottom 512 of the gear enclosure usingscrews 518 a,b,c,d,e,f,g, although various embodiments may includevarious fasteners and fastening methods.

An o-ring 520 is included and fitted around the stem 30 to connect thestem 30 to a ring gear 530. The o-ring 520 is placed between the ringgear 530 and the stem 30 to provide friction between the ring gear 530and the stem 30 so that the ring gear 530 can be mechanically coupled tothe stem 30 without modifying the stem 30. However, other mechanicalconnections may be utilized in various embodiments.

The ring gear 530 is arranged in engagement with an intermediate gear540. The intermediate gears 540 is arranged to rotate around anintermediate gear shaft 545 that is connected to the gear enclosure 510.The intermediate gear 540 provides a mechanical correlation betweenrotation of the ring gear 530 and rotation of a potentiometer gear 550that is arranged in engagement with the intermediate gear 540. Thepotentiometer gear 550 is fixedly connected to a potentiometer shaft 560of a potentiometer 570. As such, the position indicator 500 provides amechanical correlation between rotation of the stem 30 and rotation ofthe potentiometer shaft 560. The output resistance of the potentiometer570 varies with the rotation of the potentiometer shaft 560. Thisvariation can be correlated to the position of the gate in thenon-rising stem valve. The rotation of the stem 30 can be calculatedbased on the gear ratio of the potentiometer shaft 560, the intermediategear 550, the ring gear 540, and the stem 30. Vertical movement of thegate 40 can be determined from rotation of the stem 30 by a calculationinvolving pitch of the threads 39 of the stem 30. As such, the positionindicator 500 of the current embodiment may provide a mechanical meansof measuring rotation of the stem 30 from which the travel of the gate40 can be determined Although the FIG. 6 does not explicitly show teeth,the ring gear 530, intermediate gear 540, and potentiometer gear 550include an interface between each other that may include teeth,frictional surfaces, magnetic pole interaction, or another system toallow motion of the stem 30 to correspond with motion of thepotentiometer shaft 560.

In various embodiments, other mechanical systems may provide similarvalue to the system described above. For example, in some systems, a DCmotor, stepper motor, and/or various encoders, such as encoders thatcount the number of turns of the stem, may be implemented in anembodiment similar to the embodiment of FIG. 6. One of skill in the artwould understand that various modifications to the embodiments of thecurrent disclosure do not depart from general teachings of thedisclosure, and various accommodations must be made to permit varianceamongst the various embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows a non-rising stem gate valve 5000 of the currentembodiment. The position indicator 500 of the current embodiment can beseen on the gate valve 5000.

In some embodiments of each position indicator 100,500 (and positionindicator 600, shown below with reference to FIGS. 9-11D), the positionindicator 100,500,600 may be attached to a valve such as non-rising stemgate valve 10 through retrofitting. Some existing valves are buriedseveral feet underground, so retrofitting may be accomplished in someembodiments via a long arm to remove and replace various elements of avalve with new elements integrated with any of position indicators100,500,600. Retrofitting existing valves would not require new gears,actuators, or other components in some embodiments, and the existingvalves would continue to operate normally. In some embodiments of eachposition indicator 100,500,600, the position indicator 100,500,600 maybe provided with the valves such as non-rising stem gate valves1000,5000 (and gate valves 6000, shown below with reference to FIGS.9-11D) respectively, in a preassembled package. Various otherembodiments are considered within the disclosure as well, including,among others, integrating the position indicator with the stuffing box35, installing along the stem 30 by removing the op nut 25, andproviding a separate package that connects onto the bonnet 20 or thehousing 15.

Other exemplary embodiments of a monitoring method and apparatus of thecurrent disclosure include an optical sensor or an infrared sensor. Inthis embodiment, a light source, e.g. one or more light emitting diodes(LEDs), may be placed on the housing 15 on one side of the gate 40 and alight detecting sensor may be placed on the opposite side of the housing15 and gate 40 inside the housing 15. Such a system would allowdetection of opening or closing of the gate 40 and any valve into whichsuch system was incorporated by detecting whether light is passing fromone side of the gate 40 to the other. For example, one embodiment of thecurrent disclosure may include three sets of LEDs and correspondinglight detecting sensors, each set of LEDs and sensors may be spaced, ona vertical axis, equally throughout non-rising stem gate valve housing15 (i.e. top, middle, bottom). As the gate 40 travels from an open to aclosed position, the gate 40 will pass and block the light as ittravels. Depending on the light blocked, the position indicator maytranslate such blockage into position or status of gate 40. In someembodiments, light sensing could be provided by light intensity todetermine the percentage of gate opening.

Another exemplary embodiment includes an audio source and an audiosensor in a valve. The audio source may produce an audible ornon-audible signal (i.e. a “ping”) and the audio sensor (e.g. ahydrophone, an accelerometer, or microphone) listens and determines thecharacteristics of the ping by sound, frequency, time, amplitude, phaseshifting, and other characteristics that correlates into the position orstate of the valve. Such an embodiment would operate in a nature similarto SONAR.

Another exemplary embodiment includes toggle switching to indicatewhether a gate valve is open or closed. A toggling embodiment can takemultiple forms, including those described elsewhere in this disclosurewhen reconfigured to provide open/closed indication rather thanpercentage indication. In other embodiments, the position indicator mayinclude an electrical contact on the end of the gate 40 and on theinside of the housing 15 such that a short is made when the gate 40 isclosed and contacts the inside of the housing 15 and an open is formedwhen the gate 40 is raised. In other embodiments, mechanical switchingin contact with the gate 40 or other components of the system mayprovide benefit in creating an open/closed indication.

An exemplary embodiment of a monitoring circuit of the currentdisclosure is illustrated in FIG. 8. The monitoring circuit 800 may bepresent on circuit board 150 of the current embodiment. The monitoringcircuit 800 includes a microprocessor 850, a first Hall sensor 810, asecond Hall sensor 820, a voltage source 830, multiple connectors 840and various other components (e.g. capacitors, resistors and diodes),which components are ancillary to the design of the monitoring circuit800 and use of such components are well known in the art. In the currentembodiment, circuit board 150 may be placed in a vertical orientation sothat Hall sensor 810 is directly below Hall sensor 820 on a verticalaxis. In a closed state, gate 40 and magnet 110 are closer in proximityto Hall sensor 810, and magnet 110 produces a stronger magnetic fieldsensed by Hall sensor 810 relative to the magnetic field sensed by Hallsensor 820. Hall sensor 810 produces and transmits a signal tomicroprocessor 850 indicating the presence of a strong magnetic field.Microprocessor 850 interprets this signal and correlates the signal tothe position of gate 40. Because the location of the gate 40 and magnet110 is farther from the Hall sensor 820, Hall sensor 820 providesmicroprocessor 850 with a signal indicating little or no magnetic field.The signal from Hall sensor 820 confirms the location of the gate 40.Conversely, if the gate 40 and magnet 110 are in an open position andclose in proximity to Hall sensor 820, the microprocessor 850 willinterpret the signals from Hall sensors 810, 820 as the non-rising stemgate valve 1000 being open. Similarly, if gate 40 and magnet 110 are inan intermediate state or position, i.e. not fully open or closed, theHall sensors 810, 820 will produce signals indicating suchstate/position.

Microprocessor 850 may also receive signals from other internal andexternal devices with which it may be interfacing via connectors 840.Connectors 840 may provide connection to or communication with variousother sensors, displays, diagnostic tools, communication devices, andthe like. The monitoring circuit 800 may communicate via analog ordigital methods, wirelessly or wired, to any of various devices, whichmay be mounted with the non-rising stem gate valve 1000 or in anotherlocation desired. Although the current embodiment includesmicroprocessor 850, microprocessor 850 is not necessary, and itsfunction may be implemented in hardware.

Although the exemplary embodiment of the monitoring circuit describedwith relation to FIG. 8 includes Hall sensors 810,820, one of skill inart would understand that various embodiments may require modificationfrom the embodiment shown. For example, replacing the Hall sensors810,820 with a potentiometer (such as shown with the embodiment of FIG.6), related biasing circuitry and related software in the microprocessorwould enable one of skill in the art to alter the circuitry as shown forother embodiments disclosed herein.

Another embodiment of a position indicator 600 and gate valve 6000 isseen in FIGS. 9-11D. FIGS. 9-10 display an exploded view of the gatevalve 6000 and a close-up exploded view of the position indicator 600 inassembly with other features of the gate valve 6000. The gate valve 6000includes a stem 610, the position indicator 600, the stuffing box 35,bolts 75 a,b, nuts 76 a,b, the bonnet 20, the housing 15, the op nut 25,and an op nut bolt 619. FIG. 10 displays a close-up view of the gatevalve 6000 of FIG. 9. As seen, the position indicator 600 has two keys630 a,630 b (630 b seen in FIGS. 11A-11C) which each accept one of thebolts 75 a,b to keep the position indicator 600 aligned withoutrotating. The stem 610 includes o-ring channels 642,644,646 that accepto-rings (not shown) to provide friction for the position indicator 600to be slipped over the stem 610 as will be discussed later. A connectionpost 695 is seen for connection of a wire if necessary. The positionindicator 600 includes a stem aperture 679.

FIG. 11A displays an exploded view of the position indicator 600. Theposition indicator 600 includes a stem collar 645 that includesthreading 647 on an outer surface. The stem collar 645 is fit over thestem 610 with o-rings (not shown) along its inner surface 649 so thatthe stem collar 645, having friction with the stem 610, engages the stem610 and rotates therewith. A circuit board 650 is seen and is similar tocircuit board 150 as previously described. A position couple 620 is seenthat includes threading 622 on an inner surface. A case enclosure 670includes a bottom 672 and a top 674. A magnet 675 is seen. The magnet675 is placed inside or connected to the position couple 620. Apositioning clip 680 is seen proximate a lower end of the positionindicator 600. The position clip 680 includes keys 630 a,b to engage thebolts 75 a,b of the gate valve 600. The connection post 695 is alsoseen.

FIG. 11B displays a top view of the position indicator 600. As can beseen, the position indicator 600 includes two keys 630 a,630 b to acceptthe bolts 75 a,b. FIG. 11C shows a cross-sectional view of the positionindicator 600. The position couple 620 is seen with its threading 622engaging the threading 647 on the stem collar 645. FIG. 11D showsanother cross-sectional view of the position indicator 600. The magnet675 can be seen inside the position couple 620. The circuit board 650includes Hall sensors 655 a,b. In connection with the stem, the stemcollar 645 is attached to the stem 610 using o-rings (not shown) thatprovide friction with the stem 610. The connection post 695 is seen aswell.

In operation, the stem 610 is coupled to the stem collar 645 via o-rings(not shown) so that the stem collar 645 rotates with the stem 610.Threading 647 of the stem collar 645 engages threading 622 of theposition couple 620 to cause the position couple 620 to move verticallywith the rotation of the stem 610. As discussed elsewhere in thisdisclosure, vertical motion of the position couple 620 corresponds withvertical motion of the magnet 675, which is sensed by Hall sensors 655a,b.

As seen with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, the position indicator100,500,600 may be connected to a communication device. With referenceto FIG. 12, communication device 1210 provides a visual readout of thestate of the non-rising stem gate valve 1000,5000,6000. A wire conductor1205 is connected on one end to the position indicator 100,500,600 viaone of the connectors 840 (see FIG. 8) and on the other end to thecommunication device 1210 via connector 1230. The communication device1210 has a screen 1220 that provides a readable display. Thecommunication device 1210 may include circuitry or other electronics tointerpret the signals it receives from the position indicator 100, 500.In other embodiments, the screen 1220 may display information providedby microprocessor 850 (see FIG. 8), Although a wire conductor 1205 isincluded in the current embodiment, the communication device 1210 may beconnected wirelessly to the position indicator 100, 500.

With reference to FIG. 13, communication device 1310 is connected to theposition indicator 100,500,600 by a wire conductor 1205 via connector1330. The communication device 1310 includes an antenna 1350. In thecurrent embodiment, the antenna 1350 may be mounted above ground levelor just below ground level. In various embodiments, various antennas maybe used that may be mounted in various spatial relationships with theground and/or with the position indicator 100,500,600. Variousembodiments may or may not include antennas that protrude from thecommunication device 1310. Although the communication device 1310 doesnot include a readable display such as the screen 1220 of thecommunication device 1210, in various embodiments, various communicationdevices may include both screens and wireless communication capability.

Communication device 1310 may communicate the data and informationreceived from position indicator 100, 500 to local or remote devices viaone or more ways including cellular, Bluetooth, and WIFI communicationmethods.

As seen in FIG. 14, a system 1400 of the current disclosure as appliedto a residential water supply may include various components. Non-risingstem gate valves 1000,5000,6000 may be connected in the system 1400along with various valves such as check valve 1410 and butterfly valve1420. The system 1400 may include a fire hydrant 1430. The variouscomponents of the system 1400 may include their own position indicatorsthat may be similar in components or features to position indicators100,500. The components of the system 1400 may be connected together andin communication with the communication device 1310 (as shown) or withanother device such as communication device 1210 (not shown) via a wiredconnection or through wireless communication. The communication device1310, via antenna 1350 may be capable of communicating with a remotelylocated communicator 1440. The system 1400 may also be capable ofinterfacing with another system along a nodal network or through amonitoring device 1450 such as a PC, cellular, Bluetooth, or HTML webenabled device, among others.

Another exemplary embodiment of a system embodying the currentdisclosure is system 1500 shown in FIG. 15. Various non-rising stem gatevalves 1000,5000,6000 are connected in communication with each other asshown. Additionally, the system 1500 includes a non-rising stem gatevalve 1000′,5000′, which includes a DC actuator (as discussedpreviously) and a non-rising stem gate valve 1000″,5000″, which includesan AC actuator (as discussed previously). Additional valves such asnon-rising stem gate valves 1000,1000′,1000″,5000,5000′,5000″ may beconnected or “daisy-chained” in the system 1500. A power source 1520 isshown as a 120V or 220V alternating current (AC) source to power the ACactuator of the non-rising stem gate valve 1000″,5000″. Another powersource 1530 is shown as a direct current (DC) battery to power the DCactuator of the non-rising stem gate valve 1000′,5000′. No single powersource or power supply method should be considered limiting on thedisclosure, and various power arrangements may be made for variouscomponents of the system 1500 or similar systems in accord with thecurrent disclosure.

The DC power source 1530 in the current embodiment may be chargedthrough solar energy of solar panels 1540. Other sources of power suchas wind, water, heat, vibration, compressed air, and spring energy,among others, may be used in various embodiments and would be understoodby one of skill in the art.

The “daisy-chain” of non-rising stem gate valves1000,1000′,1000″,5000,5000′,5000″ are connected to the communicationdevices 1210,1310. In the current embodiment, the communication devices1210,1310, includes the antenna 1350, and communicate with a remotelylocated communicator (not shown). Power to the communication devices1210, 1310 is supplied by the power source 1560, which may be AC or DCpower and may be supplied by wire, solar, battery, or other method.Solar panels 1570 are shown connected to the power source 1560 and maybe included to provide power.

Illustrated in FIG. 16, system 1600 may include various combinations ofcomponents, processes, methods and apparatus. The combinations ofcomponents, processes, methods and apparatus as described with referenceto FIG. 16 may be implemented in the systems 1400,1500 previouslydescribed or in various other implementations of the current disclosure.Position monitoring and indicating as shown in block 1610 may includemagnetic, mechanical, potentiometer (such as potentiometer 570 includedwith position indicator 500), switches in series, or magnetic field(such as the magnetic field described in connection with positionindicator 100) sensing, among others. Some magnetic or mechanicalmethods may display only an open or a closed state and may not provideexact position location; other approaches to position indicating (suchas those previously described) may provide approximate positionindication based on sensed or percentage data. The power source as shownby block 1620 may include a number of options including 120V or 220V ACpower, solar, battery, wireless power wand, hand crank or othermechanical storing of potential energy, or through a connection ofanother power source. Communication methods as shown by block 1630 mayinclude cellular, radio, ethernet, Bluetooth, satellite, or connectionto another communication device. Field applications shown by block 1640may include electronic and remote actuation; position indication; datagathering such as water pressure, temperature, turbidity, velocity, andother features of the system 1600; maintenance applications such asroutine or emergency flushing; and, security applications such as tamperdetection or hazardous material flushing.

Other components of the system 1500 may include various valves, meters,and hydrants, among others. Although the current embodiment is discussedin the context of non-rising gate valves1000,1000′,1000″,5000,5000′,5000″,6000,6000′,6000″, one of skill in theart would understand that multiple components of the system 1500 mayinclude various position indicators and may be connected in the system.

In various embodiments, position indicators in accord with the presentdisclosure may be internal to the apparatus for which they provideposition indication information. In various embodiments, positionindicators in accord with the present disclosure may be integral withthe apparatus for which they provide position indication information.Various embodiments of this disclosure may include various combinationsand subcombinations of elements as disclosed herein may be over- orunder-inclusive of the exemplary embodiments described in detail herein.

One should note that conditional language, such as, among others, “can,”“could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, orotherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intendedto convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments donot include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Unless statedotherwise, it should not be assumed that multiple features, embodiments,solutions, or elements address the same or related problems or needs.Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply thatfeatures, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or moreparticular embodiments or that one or more particular embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are includedor are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelypossible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clearunderstanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Any physicalproperties described above should be understood as representing one ofmany possible embodiments, and alternate implementations are includeddepending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by thosereasonably skilled in the art of the present disclosure. Many variationsand modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s)without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of thepresent disclosure. Further, the scope of the present disclosure isintended to cover any and all combinations and sub-combinations of allelements, features, and aspects discussed above. All such modificationsand variations are intended to be included herein within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and all possible claims to individual aspects orcombinations of elements or steps are intended to be supported by thepresent disclosure.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A device for indicating the status of avalve comprising: a position indicator, wherein the position indicatorincludes a monitoring element; and a communication element.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the position indicator includes a ring gearmechanically coupled to the valve.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein thering gear is engageable with a stem of the valve.
 4. The device of claim3, further comprising an o-ring mounted on the stem and positionedbetween the ring gear and the stem.
 5. The device of claim 2, whereinthe position indicator further includes: a potentiometer, thepotentiometer including a rotatable potentiometer shaft; and apotentiometer gear fixedly connected to the potentiometer shaft, thepotentiometer gear mechanically coupled to the ring gear.
 6. The deviceof claim 5, further comprising an intermediate gear, the intermediategear engaging both the ring gear and the potentiometer gear.
 7. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the position indicator includes apotentiometer mechanically correlated to the valve.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the position indicator is mountable between a stuffingbox of the valve and an op nut of the valve.
 9. The device of claim 1,wherein the communication element includes a communication device. 10.The device of claim 9, wherein the communication device includes avisual readout.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein the communicationdevice is connected to the position indicator by a wire conductor. 12.The device of claim 9, wherein the communication device includes anantenna.
 13. A method for indicating the status of at least one valvecomprising: monitoring positions of a device enclosed by a first valvewith a position indicator; communicating the positions of the deviceenclosed by the first valve with a communications element.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein monitoring positions of the device enclosedby the first valve includes mechanically coupling a ring gear to thefirst valve.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein monitoring positions ofthe device enclosed by the first valve further includes: providing apotentiometer including a rotatable potentiometer shaft; mounting apotentiometer gear on the potentiometer shaft; and mechanically couplingthe potentiometer gear to the ring gear.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein mechanically coupling the potentiometer gear to the ring gearincludes engaging both the ring gear and the potentiometer gear with anintermediate gear.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein: mechanicallycoupling the ring gear to the first valve includes connecting the ringgear to a valve stem; and monitoring positions of the device enclosed bythe first valve further: calculating the rotation of the valve stembased on a gear ratio of the potentiometer shaft, the intermediate gear,the ring gear, and the valve stem; and calculating vertical movement ofthe device enclosed by the first valve from the rotation of the valvestem.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein: the valve stem includesthreads having a pitch; and calculating vertical movement of the deviceincludes basing a calculation upon the pitch.
 13. The method of claim13, further comprising: monitoring positions of a second device enclosedby a second valve with a second position indicator; and communicatingthe positions of the second device enclosed by the second valve with thecommunications element.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingcommunicating the position of the device enclosed by the first valvewith a remotely located communicator.